The Lost Pack (Paige) novel Chapter 250

Book 2 – Chapter 15

Book 2~ Chapter 15

**Poppy’s POV **

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I wake up slowly. For a moment, I don’t know where I am. Warmth surrounds me, the steady weight. of a blanket pulled up to my shoulders, and the faint scent of smoke.

Then I realise two things at once. First… I’m not alone. Second… I didn’t run. My heart stutters as memory rushes back in a wave. The cabin, the couch, Jake, Leo.

Carefully, I open my eyes. My head is in Jake’s lap as he sits on the couch. He’s still asleep, his head tilted awkwardly against the couch cushion. I bet he will have a stiff neck today. Do werewolves even get stiff necks?… probably not. One of his hands is still loosely tangled with mine, never letting go, even in his sleep.

On the other side of the couch, Leo is awake, watching me. His gaze softens when he sees my

eyes open.

“Morning,” he says quietly.

“Morning,” I answer, my voice still thick with sleep.

For a second, I just lie there, letting the reality settle around me. I didn’t run, and neither did they. I

didn’t wake up alone.

My legs rest on Leo’s lap, and his hands rest gently on my shins. Did he stay awake all night

watching over me?

Without really thinking about it, my fingers tighten around Jake’s, and he stirs almost immediately.

His brow furrows slightly before his eyes open, confusion flashing across his face for half a second. Then he sees me, and the relief that floods his expression is so raw it nearly breaks my

heart.

“You’re still here,” he breathes.

I smile softly. “I told you I would be.”

Jake exhales slowly, as if he’s been holding that breath all night. Across the couch, Leo watches us quietly, I’m sure he noticed the way I reached for Jake first, and the way Jake relaxed the second he realised I hadn’t disappeared. His eyes flash with his wolf, but it’s not jealousy I see there; it looks more like approval,

ion there

None of us speak for a moment, each lost in our own thoughts and the realisation that we are all here together, something I don’t think any of us expected after so long apart. My body aches in that way it does after a deep sleep after too long of broken sleep.

I shouldn’t have slept so well, not like this. Not when I didn’t even make it into a real bed, but I did. I

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Book 2 Chapter 15

slept better than I have in months.

“It’s because of them,” the voice says suddenly, making me flinch in surprise.

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Leo and Jake don’t miss it; their gazes shoot to me instantly, and the concern in their eyes almost

melts me.

“Almost got a cramp,” I lie, forcing a smile.

They don’t ask where; they just act. Leo’s hands wrap around my legs, massaging my calves, whilst Jake works on my shoulders and neck. My eyes close in bliss, and I start questioning why I ever ran

from this.

“You ran because this isn’t the whole truth.” The voice is quiet, but it cuts through the warmth like a cold blast.

My eyes snap open.

“They deserve to know,” it continues, calm and patient in a way that makes my stomach twist.

Know what?

The question forms automatically in my mind, but I don’t ask it out loud. I don’t even let my face react. The last thing I want right now is for Jake or Leo to realise that I’m hearing voices, or they may be the ones to run this time.

“You’re hiding from it,” the voice adds.

A chili crawls up my spine despite Leo’s warm hands still working the tension from my legs.

No… I’m not doing this right now. Not when they’re touching me like I’m something precious. Not when this moment feels so normal. I force the thought away and sit up slowly.

“Okay,” I say quickly, stretching my arms above my Head like that’s all the flinch was about. “I think the cramp’s gone.”

Jake’s hands linger on my shoulders for a second longer before he lets go.

“Good,” he says, though his eyes linger on my face as if he’s trying to read something there.

Leo releases my legs and leans back slightly.

“You slept like the dead,” he says.

I laugh softly. “Is that a compliment?”

“Once you finished talking in your sleep, you were snoring like a grizzly bear,” Jake grins.

My stomach flips slightly at that,

“Why did I say?” I ask carefully, trying not to show my panic.

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Book 2 Chapter 15

Jake and Leo exchange a brief look.

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“Nothing that made any sense,” Leo answers, “And you did snore, but more like a little kitten than a grizzly bear.”

Relief washes through me. For a moment I thought they’d realised I’m not alone in my own head. I do plan to tell them eventually. If anyone would understand something like this, it would be the two people who literally share their bodies with another being. But not yet.

Things between the three of us are still fragile, still settling into something new and uncertain. I don’t want to risk shattering that before it’s had a chance to take root. And if I’m being honest with myself… I’m not even ready to admit what this might mean.

Maybe it’s nothing. Just my imagination trying to patch over the trauma. A coping mechanism my mind created after everything that’s happened. People hear things when they’re stressed all the time. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. Because the alternative, that the voice in my head isn’t something I created, is a possibility I’m not ready to face yet. Especially when, sometimes, it

doesn’t feel like a thought at all. It feels like something waiting.

I look at Jake and Leo; they look tired. They probably stayed awake most of the night. Guilt

prickles at the back of my mind.

“Well,” I say, clapping my hands lightly against my thighs and sitting up. “Since you two apparently turned into my personal mattress and bodyguards, the least I can do is make us all breakfast.”

Jake immediately stands up. “No.”

“No?” I blink.

He points toward the stairs. “You’re going to relax and shower.”

Leo nods. “Upstairs. You still haven’t seen the rest of the cabin.”

I open my mouth to argue, but the smell of smoke and stale coffee in my hair makes me pause.

Plus, he’s right. I haven’t had a chance to check out the upstairs yet, and I’m curious.

“Fair point, a shower sounds good.”

Jake moves into the kitchen with the kind of determination that suggests he’s already planned for this. Leo pushes himself off the couch and gestures toward the stairs.

“Come on, I’ll show you around.”

I follow him up the wooden staircase, my fingers trailing lightly along the railing as I take in the cabin properly for the first time in daylight, Sunlight spills through the upstairs windows, painting the hallway in warm gold.

“Your room’s this way,” Leo says,

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Book 2 – Chapter 15

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My room, the words make my heart squeeze. He opens the door at the end of the hall and steps aside.

I walk in slowly. The room is bigger than I expected. A large window faces the trees outside, letting in soft morning light. A bookshelf sits in one corner already half-filled. A thick rug stretches across the wooden floor, and soft grey blankets are folded neatly at the end of the bed.

My gaze lands on the bed itself. It’s huge. Not just big, like a super king, but gigantic. The kin bed that very clearly wasn’t designed for just two people.

I glance back at Leo, and he lifts one shoulder slightly. “We thought ahead.”

My cheeks warm slightly. “I can see that.”

“No pressure, it’s just a bed, and it’s yours.”

I study him for a moment before I nod. It’s hard not to believe him when he looks at me like I just hung the moon. I think if I never let either of them touch me again, they’d still want me here. I must have been a saint in my past life to deserve men like this.

I step further into the room, taking in the little details. The nightstand has a reading lamp, and a small vase of fresh flowers sits beside it. There’s even a small plant in the corner.

“You guys really did think of everything,” I murmur.

Leo leans against the door frame, watching me quietly. “We had time.”

Eight months of it. The thought settles heavily in my chest.

“Oh,” I say suddenly. “My bags are still at Paige’s.”

“That’s fine,” Leo says easily. “I’ll grab them whilst Jake makes breakfast.”

“You don’t have to..”

“I know.”

He walks to the dresser and opens one of the drawers, pulling out an oversized black T-shirt and tosses it toward me.

“You can wear that for now,”

I catch it; the fabric is soft in my hands and I resist the urge to bring it to my nose to smell it.

“Are you just looking for an excuse to see me in your clothes?” I tease,

Leo’s mouth twitches slightly. “Maybe,”

“Bathroom’s through there,” he gestures toward another door before stepping back into the hallway. “I’ll go get your bags.”

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Book 2 Chapter 15

“Thanks,” I say softly.

He nods once before heading downstairs.

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